dharma1976

This is the second time I have demoed the 103 Velo from PD...the first time I had no business flying this monster of a canopy...the second time with a bit more time with my mentors and some time on an FX I really got the knack of it...the openings can be squirrelly at times...but most of the time they are wonderful...I cleared the pond at the ranch twice on rears landed it off twice and no problems what so ever....long spots can be handled easily with some rears input it trims out really nice and gets you home.... Thanks PD

what there is something lighter then hefeweisen? I had no idea Dave http://www.skyjunky.com CSpenceFLY - I can't believe the number of people willing to bet their life on someone else doing the right thing.

absolutely 9 AM is fine by me... I graduated two students yesterday :-) that was a nice end to the weekend.... Dave http://www.skyjunky.com CSpenceFLY - I can't believe the number of people willing to bet their life on someone else doing the right thing.

SIGH...keycaps.... well good luck with all that we aren't judgmental we operate on a very logical stance...a + b usually = c unless there is something going on that we dont know about like the guy is all about canopy spends a jump every day pulling high and wailing on shit...or similar... so we usually assume that person with 600 jumps flying velo will pound into ground and usually either a wind up in wheel chair...or b die... we prefer neither... we like having people excited abotu canopy flight around...in fact maybe tha attitude comes from the fact that we have lost people we like due to the exact same issue and it makes us a bit jaded... so when we give advice even if it is snippy cause we have been burned a lot from similar situations... good luck and be safe Dave http://www.skyjunky.com CSpenceFLY - I can't believe the number of people willing to bet their life on someone else doing the right thing.

so here is the deal about swooping a shorter recovery arc canopy thta I found... I worked on big carving turns...spending a lot of time in the dive... I worked on EASING out the fronts to go to rears/toggles to make the canopy not bust out of turn quickly if you drop the fronts you will recover quickly I worked on patterns and head on a swivel in a big way had some really nice two way swoops that I had no Idea that were going on until I was carving between parked planes to avoid it I worked on accuracy of swoops...we set up a cone lane so that we could all work on accuracy... and in the end on a sabre2 170 I was getting nice 100 foot to 150 foot swoops through a mini cone course......then I moved on and gat guess what a sabre 2 150 (did 60 jumps on that before I moved on to xfire2 129) Cheers man Dave http://www.skyjunky.com CSpenceFLY - I can't believe the number of people willing to bet their life on someone else doing the right thing.

it was loaded at 1.2647058823529411 according to the wingload calculator.... Dave http://www.skyjunky.com CSpenceFLY - I can't believe the number of people willing to bet their life on someone else doing the right thing.

I jump a crossfire now...I learned to swoop on a sabre2 170... The crossfire can bite you in the arse if you arent on top of your game... god I am glad I learned to be on top of my game on the sabre2's I could show you some footage of some bad early crossfire swoops that could have hurt me real bad if you like? Cheers Dave http://www.skyjunky.com CSpenceFLY - I can't believe the number of people willing to bet their life on someone else doing the right thing.

careful with meester brody hes the only perfect coach out ther (inside joke not true) Dave http://www.skyjunky.com CSpenceFLY - I can't believe the number of people willing to bet their life on someone else doing the right thing.

well I would do it but a tracking dive for a recurrency??? Hit me up at the DZ tomorrow names junky... Dave http://www.skyjunky.com CSpenceFLY - I can't believe the number of people willing to bet their life on someone else doing the right thing.

mine is bigger than my main and I am thinking about replacing both of my pdr 126s with the new pd optimumss for my fat ass Dave http://www.skyjunky.com CSpenceFLY - I can't believe the number of people willing to bet their life on someone else doing the right thing.

Does my belly flying me make me a better belly flier? I have more high pulls than I do strict belly jumps I am starting to learn belly point names though and actually went out and did four way a few weekends ago Dave http://www.skyjunky.com CSpenceFLY - I can't believe the number of people willing to bet their life on someone else doing the right thing.

heh I would love to head out there again I just must avoid atitlan... something about angels and demons... So are you jumping by monterrico??? I would agree about waiting until you have some time and money to put yourself around swoopers and coaches... Coaching and mentoring has done the most for me... Dave http://www.skyjunky.com CSpenceFLY - I can't believe the number of people willing to bet their life on someone else doing the right thing.

well frost set up a swoop lane away from the main landing area and that has actually helped a bit... it still doesnt keep people from setting 3 different patterns sometimes though which becomes a little sporty for me sometimes... okay we are landing this way nope oh shit someone is landing the other way ...oh well I will head down to the pond oh crap the slow boat to china canopy is landing straight in right over the fucking pond oh well let me change my set up again really quick...oh shit almost lost my toggle on that one grab the rears real quick ... oh well beer thirty for me... people are flying their 170s like 90 year old grandmas fucking oblivious... Dave http://www.skyjunky.com CSpenceFLY - I can't believe the number of people willing to bet their life on someone else doing the right thing.

ahhh to swoop the black sands of the pacific coast... to bad every time I come to guate I get in trouble... Find a Scott Miller, Flight 1 or Brian Germain course in California... Cheers and safe swoops... Dave http://www.skyjunky.com CSpenceFLY - I can't believe the number of people willing to bet their life on someone else doing the right thing.

Well, I assume that you load it a bit more than 1.1 . Its still nice and friendly over 1.5. I think it was loaded about 2lbs per sq ft Dave http://www.skyjunky.com CSpenceFLY - I can't believe the number of people willing to bet their life on someone else doing the right thing.

hopefully not like the catholic high school girls I dated... cause then the canopy will tear up your back and bite you and then totally fuck you rotten.... wasnt a huge fan of the cobalt...but this I will say the one I flew 105 did dive like a crackwhore in a sheetrock factory... Dave http://www.skyjunky.com CSpenceFLY - I can't believe the number of people willing to bet their life on someone else doing the right thing.

well then call me fiddy D http://www.skyjunky.com CSpenceFLY - I can't believe the number of people willing to bet their life on someone else doing the right thing.

I noticed a huge difference between the pilot 150 and the sabre2 150... the pilot pretty much came out of the dive instantaneously unless I really hammered on the turn and eventually hammered myself into the ground trying to figure out how to keep that from happening... that being said I noticed that the pilot had a very positive recovery arc...the sabre 2 I could let it fly before adding input to come out of my turn. If I were to choose between the three I would choose either sabre2 or safire. If I were to choose between the sabre2 and safire at this point I would choose the safire 2 due to openings and slow flight charecteristics... No back to your original question...you said crossfire or katana...I would steer away from those for now... I got my crossfire at about 500 jumps...the gains would be nominal at best underloading the canopy... I say this over and over all the time to people... I learned to swoop on a sabre2 170 Spend your time learn each canopy wring them out as much as possible... Do not under any circumstances think that downsizing is the magical answer to your problems... Perhaps Planform..(canopy type) will help more... and most of all get a mentor to help you with your progression I was lucky to have had and still have some great mentors taht helped me learn and stay alive... Cheers to them and you Dave http://www.skyjunky.com CSpenceFLY - I can't believe the number of people willing to bet their life on someone else doing the right thing.

I learned to swoop on a sabre2 170 loaded at about 1.2 I would also recommend a safire2 around the same loading... it worked well for me... get in touch with PD get a demo http://performancedesigns.com/demo_sport.asp or from chicago for icarus http://para-concepts.com/Store/product_info.php?cPath=30_33&products_id=70 Cheers Dave http://www.skyjunky.com CSpenceFLY - I can't believe the number of people willing to bet their life on someone else doing the right thing.

you just described my turn to a T Dave http://www.skyjunky.com CSpenceFLY - I can't believe the number of people willing to bet their life on someone else doing the right thing.

and pay attention to stu...cause I gave someone a set of 24s to try out and they didn't really listen to the extended recovery arc speech and have a sore tail bone because of it I love my 24's except when I am 3 miles out and am trying to grab my slider sometimes... other than that it works really nice for me...finding my rears seems easier for me holding in a dive cause I use the fold from the waist technique while hanging on risers instead of pulling down on them... heres the trick try em see if they are for you if they aint ditch em Dave http://www.skyjunky.com CSpenceFLY - I can't believe the number of people willing to bet their life on someone else doing the right thing.

why should a swooper have to try and predict which way the "SP" flier will stop their s-turns on landing because their instructor never taught them the correct way to land? why should a swooper have to try and predict if a "SP" flier will be in the HP landing area? Because right now, operating on the "low man has right of way" theory, the swooper is obliged to yield ROW to the lower slower flyer, not the other way around. It's impossible to do that if you turn your back on the pattern during a 270, as Danny showed us. Which is why separation is a good idea for swoopers. and this would be why I fly a right hand pattern left handed 270... that way I see the pattern instead of turning BLINDLY back into the pattern... Dave http://www.skyjunky.com CSpenceFLY - I can't believe the number of people willing to bet their life on someone else doing the right thing.

I do it all the time I prefer to have everything neat and tucked away but every once and a while you will see me kick on some man-pris and a long sleeve... just make sure the shirt is tucked away so it doesnt cover your handles Dave http://www.skyjunky.com CSpenceFLY - I can't believe the number of people willing to bet their life on someone else doing the right thing.

mine got killed while in a protektor... in act the protector leaked water inside and then held it in making situation worse... and the best part...I was in the water for all of a second Dave http://www.skyjunky.com CSpenceFLY - I can't believe the number of people willing to bet their life on someone else doing the right thing.

I have been policed by JP I have to say it is much better than people taking the approach that oh someone wont listen which happens a lot... JP I still think about that landing and how you asked me if I saw the other guy... It makes me look that much harder on every landing... Keep up the good police work JP Dave http://www.skyjunky.com CSpenceFLY - I can't believe the number of people willing to bet their life on someone else doing the right thing.